Category: Technology

Recently, Harald Ott’s laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital was able to make a bio-engineered rat kidney.[1] In their experimental design, they exposed a mature rat kidney to detergents in order to wash away old parent cells, leaving only a web of proteins that constituted the original kidney. Then, by injecting endothelial and epithelial cells into […]

This past summer, Nature and Science published a pair of studies, identifying mutations and other biological modifications that significantly elevate the contagiousness of H5N1, or bird flu. The set of articles sparked a heated discussion regarding both public access to and the appropriateness of potentially dangerous research on infectious disease. Although much of the concern surrounding studies of this nature is warranted, scientists and public health officials should err on the side of scientific freedom when considering restrictions on research and its public access.

Hans Rosling was as spry as ever during his talk sponsored by the Harvard Statistics Department in late October, a preacher of sorts for the clear communication of data on global trends. At one point, Rosling illustrated the pitfalls of PowerPoint presentations by circling the stage with his pants rolled up—what he considers the sartorial equivalent to small font size on a slide. Communicating data in an elegant and informative way was the vision behind the Trendalyzer software developed by Rosling’s Gapminder Foundation in 2006, a vision that has continued to grow under the direction of Google since Trendalyzer was acquired by the company in 2007.

In today’s world, it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that people communicate more through mobile communications than through any other mode of communication. The prevalence of mobile phones use is, quite literally, taking over the world. Around 4 billion people currently own mobile phones; that’s over half the world population. More surprisingly, almost two-thirds of mobile phone users are from developing countries. The fastest growth of mobile phone use is seen in the developing countries, and the lack of technology is hindering health care quality growth in those same countries.

By Joy Ming Global Health and Technology Online Columnist This second segment of a two-part series focuses on the recent use of water purification techniques to control and prevent future outbreaks. The earthquake that devastated Haiti two years ago left a trail of destruction that is still visible today.[1] One path of residue is the […]

As flu season rolls around once more, DNA vaccines have regained attention in scientific debates. However, the development of a universal flu vaccine has stalled due to a number of concerns including the efficacy, safety, and ethics of conducting clinical trials in developing countries.

Malaria is preventable and curable, yet, due to gaps in systematized prevention efforts, the disease accounts for 20% of childhood deaths in Africa. As a result, groups such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have targeted malaria through vertical vector control programs. WHO identifies these efforts as “the only intervention that can reduce malaria transmission from very high levels to close to zero”. However, the success of top-down vector control efforts is limited because by nature they are often focused on one specific issue…

By Joy Ming Technology & Global Health Columnist This first segment of a two part series focuses on the recent use of genomic technology to trace the origins of the outbreak. On January12, 2010, a 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, affecting three million people.[1] Though nearly two years have passed since the earthquake, repercussions are still […]